New Year, New Who?
For regular gym goers this is the most despicable time of the year (wait for that carol). This is the time when throngs of people, with New Year resolutions in hand, join gyms and actually show up. These newcomers are all in! They’re ready to be remade, remolded and get cut. Nothing’s going to stand in their way of becoming not just a new person but the best version of that new fit person possible. Until February that is. Mid-February to early March is when other things happen. Work, travel, the kids’ lessons, dog school for the Christmas puppy, that big presentation, or a cold, all take precedence over going to the gym. Once out of the routine, that gym membership quickly becomes a distant memory. In fact, gym attendance drops off precipitously mid-February and levels out for most of the remainder of the year. You see for most of us, four to six weeks is generally the length of time it takes for a new habit to form, or not to form.
It is true that people who live in glass gyms shouldn’t throw weights (or something like that) and I’m guilty of that. You see I’ve been one of those New Year, New Me people. I’ve been the guy that grabs the last locker in the change room, the last bike in the spin class or hogs the leg press machine while the regulars sit and stew. But after a flurry of pumping iron and sore muscles, I stop going to the gym. In fact, I’ve helped pay the rent for more gyms, without actually using them, than I care to remember. I start off strong but never develop the habit of showing up and working out. I’m not alone in this pattern. A survey by Compare Camp found 50% of people who join a gym quit within 6 months and 63% of gym memberships go unused. One of the largest fitness chains in Canada is called Good Life fitness. Think about it, a business where customers pay but rarely use the service. If I owned it, I’d call it a Good Life.
I’ve come to accept that I’m just not a gym guy. I’m into fitness, I’m just not into gyms. For me the cost of the membership and the effort it takes to actually go to the gym simply are more than I’m willing to pay. Not only that but at my age I find gym members generally young, fit, and more judgy than me. That can be intimidating and downright annoying. After all who wants to be labeled as the “old fart” hogging the Stairmaster? But the biggest beef I have against gyms is knowing what to do when I get there. Unless I have a plan, I wander around from machine to machine hoping I’m using it right and that I don’t hurt myself. The alternative is to hire a personal trainer but that’s another hefty expense. See what I mean about gyms.
So how can one stay fit without having to schlep all over town or break the bank. Well, there are dozens of free or low-cost alternatives available through apps and the internet. The beauty of these is that you can do it at home where you stand a chance of being the youngest person in the room. After all, you don’t need a squat rack, peck deck or smith machine to get a good work out. For most of us, who aren’t bodybuilders, simple body weight exercises or a set of dumbbells and some directions are all we need to stay fit, limber, and healthy.
One of the challenges of finding an app, video series or website is sorting through the sheer volume available. There is a ton of products out there, some good, some not so much. The other issue is finding one that works for you. It’s the Goldilocks syndrome – finding a workout program that’s not too hard, not too soft but just right. Plus, you need to enjoy the program and the personalities involved (if it’s human led). So, to help cut through the clutter and give you a head start here are a few ideas you might check out so that you, too, can be the best fit version of yourself.
7 Minute Workout Challenge – App. Easy to use anywhere, anytime. I use this app often when I’m traveling and in 7 minutes you get quite a workout. The app was made famous several years ago when it was featured in the New York Times. But can you really get enough exercise in 7 minutes? Well it’s a start and it does work. The exercises are challenging and if you want a longer workout then do it a couple of times like a circuit. Plus, the price is right for the base app – it’s free. A great place to start.
Silver Sneakers – YouTube:
This series of workout videos will be perfect for some and too light for others. Aimed at an older demographic the workouts tend to be gentle in nature but are an excellent place to start for anyone older, new to exercise or haven’t been working out in a while. Videos are 5 to 20 minutes in length and the workouts range from weight training and cardio to dance and improving balance. Silver Sneakers is owned by an American health insurer and membership is free if you qualify. The YouTube videos are free for all and while they may not be right for you now they may be right someday!
Movement – https://movementbynm.com/
This website-based program was started by the Canadian mother-daughter duo Gabriela Schonbach and Amanda June Giannakos in 2020. Their goal is to create a space where everyone feels comfortable with movement. Their inclusive classes include strength training, dance and cardio workouts, and they range in length from five to 30 minutes. They even have adaptive classes for those with limited mobility which are led by an athlete in a wheelchair. With a membership, you receive a Personal Movement Plan and are paired up with a Movement teacher. The idea is to develop a plan of specific classes to meet your individual fitness abilities, goals, and schedules. Monthly memberships are $15 or $99 annually (Cdn).
Centr – App.
If you’re not ready for Silver Sneakers, then maybe you want to be trained by a Marvel Superhero? In that case Centr is the app for you. It’s fronted by buff actor Chris Hemsworth a.k.a. Thor. This app is a full package as it covers a variety of workouts including HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) boxing, Pilates and strength training as well as including nutrition advice and mindfulness practices (who knew Thor meditated?). It’ll run you $10/month or $120 for the year. Clearly, it’s working for Hemsworth but I’m more of a Deadpool guy, so I’ll wait for that app.
Strava – App
Strava isn’t really an instructional fitness app. It is a cross between a fitness diary, GPS and Facebook. Strava will track your workout (run, cycle, swim or walk etc.), and report the particulars like distance, elevation, calories burned and time. It keeps track of what you do and will give you reports on trends in your fitness journey. But it’s also a social connection site where you can connect with and encourage your fit friends. Hey I’m on Strava. Connect with me and I’ll connect back. We can give each other kudos and trade road stories.
Apple Fitness+
Full disclosure – this is my go-to fitness app. Now you need an Apple device, iPhone, iPad or Apple TV and it is subscription based but they pretty much cover anything you want including HIIT, yoga, meditation, core, strength, Pilates, dance, cycling, treadmill, rowing and cool down. The workouts vary in time from 10 minutes to 45 minutes and they include modified movements for those with mobility issues. Apple Fitness+ is incredibly comprehensive for $12.99/month (Cdn.) or $99 annually. The premier package is the real steal as $37.95 gets you fitness, music streaming, Apple TV (okay there’s not much on but still), Arcade (we’re not exactly the gaming generation), 2 TB of cloud storage, Apple News (including loads of newspapers and pretty much every magazine published ever) and you can share the membership with 5 people. That’s like $8 a month per person! You can’t afford not to subscribe (and no Apple didn’t pay me to say that).
Bonus:
Okay this one is hot off the press. You can now do free workouts on Netflix (they’re free if you don’t count your monthly Netflix subscription which these days is basically a necessity). That’s right the service that keeps your ass stuck to the couch with bingeable entertainment wants to get that same ass in shape. I guess they figure that if you die due to inactivity you won’t be renewing your membership which wouldn’t be good for business. Nevertheless, they’ve teamed up with Nike to provide a whack of work out videos featuring different disciplines and times. However, they can be a little hard to find on the service. Go to the main menu and scroll way, way down until you reach “categories” (it’s well below comedies, documentaries, kids, and videos for your hamster). There you’ll find a fitness tab. Hit it, then cue the sweat!
Now, I’ve been pretty hard on gyms, and they really aren’t that bad. They have plenty of good points. You can’t socialize and meet people through a YouTube video, but you can at a gym. You may want to take group exercise lessons or move up to a heavier weight workout all of which gyms provide. You may also want personalized fitness instructions and there are plenty of personal trainers at every gym. Finally, you won’t get Athlete’s Foot from any fitness app. No sir, you have to go to the gym for that. Okay, okay….sorry. I told you I’m not a gym guy. The important part is you find something you enjoy doing – at home or the gym – and stick with it.
If you’re just getting into or back into fitness my suggestion is to try some of the at home, less expensive options before you sign up for a gym membership. Not only will you get in the habit of working out but these online workouts will also give you a taste of different activities so you can figure out what gets you going. They’ll teach you the basic movements of various exercises, so you’ll feel more comfortable if you do take a class IRL. And if you do decide to join a gym, wait until after February that way it won’t be so busy and you won’t be one of “those” people.